The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

He Zhizhang comforted him, saying, "Perhaps it's not that Grandfather is unwilling to tell us, but that he can't."

Lord He felt a pang of sadness at the thought of his father's early death. "Perhaps so."

I should be thankful that I followed your grandfather's dying wish and remained inactive for many years, which is how we preserved our entire Marquis's family."

"Perhaps neither the late emperor nor the current emperor ever truly trusted our family, even though your grandfather risked his life for it." Lord He thought of Consort Zhaoyi in the palace.

He thought that if he had started to be restless in his early years, there would have been no Consort Zhao in the harem long ago, and even the Eleventh Princess would not have had the chance to be born.

After hearing this, He Zhizhang became even more determined to protect Hua Sirong and push for the Second Prince to ascend to the throne.

The Marquis's mansion is already in dire straits. Perhaps a small matter could cause the entire mansion to once again follow the old path that Zhuzhu mentioned in her previous life.

They are blessed with extraordinary advantages and have the advantage of destiny; there is no reason for them to repeat the same mistakes.

"Father, is the secret in that rare book truly useless now?" He Zhizhang wanted to confirm it again.

Lord He nodded and then shook his head. "I have secretly confirmed that most of them are ineffective. As for the remaining small number, I am hesitating whether to take action and establish a connection with them."

He Zhizhang asked in confusion, "Since the rare copy is already in His Majesty's hands, we naturally have no advantage. If we go looking for it now, wouldn't that be like lambs to the slaughter?"

He Zhizhang suspected that this was a pawn deliberately left behind by the late emperor and the current emperor, so that those who harbored侥幸心理 (a sense of侥幸, or a belief that they could get away with it) would be caught like turtles in a jar.

Lord He remained silent for a long time. "I have been hesitant and uncertain before. I have thought of other ways to indirectly contact the few remaining important figures and families."

However, due to reservations, further progress has been hindered, and no substantial results have been achieved so far.

"I had a casual chat with my son today and learned that our Marquis's family has a successor. I have decided to take the risk and give it a try."

He Zhizhang was so startled that he stood up from his seat. "Father, what does this mean?"

Knowing full well that it might be a trap set by His Majesty and his men, you still insist on going your own way?

Lord He smiled faintly, “Knowing there are tigers in the mountains, yet still venturing into the tiger's den, is not the act of a wise man.”

"However, the fact that Consort Bing is a descendant of the Leng family will be exposed sooner or later. And the relationship between Consort Bing and the Shui family cannot be kept secret either."

The fact that they had been in contact could not be kept secret from those who were interested.

Since that's the case, what harm is there in me making a foolish move by contacting the last remaining few?

It was merely to participate in the struggle for the throne once again and gain merit in supporting the new emperor.

He reached out to stop He Zhizhang from saying what he was about to say, "In your eyes, I'm doing something stupid."

He Zhizhang was about to shake his head, but Lord He didn't care. "In the eyes of those in power, this is just as foolish of me."

"What is there to fear about such a stupid person?"

"As long as you follow the Second Prince to the end, the foundation of our Marquis's estate will surely be preserved."

“I used to think that I could take the Hou family mansion to a higher level under my control.”

But ever since I figured out what your grandfather did before his death, I knew that only when the Marquis's mansion could be smoothly transferred from my hands to yours could I truly say I had successfully retired.

With mixed emotions, He Zhizhang called out "Father".

Lord He continued, "Most of the people involved in the rare book have changed, but there must be a reason why those few people can still stand in the court."

If His Majesty deliberately placed a target there, it would be foolish for me to approach it, but it would be exactly what the ruler wanted.

If I deliberately avoid it, it might actually make people more wary.

At this moment, He Zhizhang also gained a deeper understanding of the profound meaning of the saying "Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger".

Lord He added as a final instruction: "Do not tell a third person about what we have discussed today."

Pay more attention to the Second Prince, but don't gamble everything.

Remember what I said before: if there's a first variable, there's no guarantee there won't be a second.

What happens next may deviate from the original trajectory; we'll just have to do our best.

Zhu Zhu's words are believable, but not entirely so.

He Zhizhang watched Lord He leave, then sat alone in his study, lost in thought...

The following day, Qingwu Courtyard welcomed two distinguished guests, He San and He Si.

He Si also brought a bunch of things, ostensibly as an apology.

On that day at the Jiang residence, in a moment of panic, she slapped Hua Sirong.

Although there was a reason for it, it was ultimately Hua Sirong who was beaten and humiliated.

Hua Sirong appeared gentle, but she knew in her heart that she had taken He Si's slap for nothing.

The two women congratulated Hua Sirong on her engagement. After Hua Sirong thanked them, she took the opportunity to talk about the marriage of He San and He Si.

He San didn't respond, presumably because no one was making arrangements for her.

Her aunt wanted to help her make arrangements, but unfortunately, she wasn't influential enough to have a say in the matter.

He Si, on the other hand, revealed that her marriage was practically a done deal.

He San's reaction was even worse than Hua Sirong's: "I spend every day with you, except when we sleep at night, we're like twins."

But I only just found out about such a big event as your engagement.

After saying this, there was a hint of sadness, as if he had been deceived.

He Si took He San's hand shyly, "It's just a verbal agreement between the two families. We're still choosing a date. It won't be that quick for us to formally propose marriage."

He San forced a smile, "I'm happy for you that you've secured your future."

"You only know that I'm a few months older than you, but I'm not... With your two happy events to compare with, you'd better bear with my little temper today."

He Si looked apologetic, and Hua Sirong didn't know what to say.

After all, Shen was her own aunt.

In the end, He San calmed himself down, "Forget it, what's so good about getting married? Look at how miserable my older sister's life is, I'm scared just thinking about it."

"It would be best if you all got married by then, and then I would be the only one left in this mansion, ruling the place."

“When you all come back during holidays with your families, I will laugh at you for not appreciating your time at home and thinking only about marrying into those cannibalistic families and becoming slaves.”

He Si and Hua Sirong echoed He San, but they knew that He San was only putting on a brave face.

What woman doesn't get married?

Let alone the fact that she was an illegitimate daughter, even the seventh daughter of this mansion, He Zhizhu, had her own mother as a backer and her own brother was the heir of a marquis's mansion.

There's no reason for a woman to stay at her parents' home and refuse to get married.

He San probably realized that she was being rather melodramatic and unreasonable, so she dropped her affected expression and posed a probing question.

Throughout history, why has it been so essential for women to marry?

These words silenced all three of them.

After a long silence, He San broke the silence first, "Cousin Rong, you suddenly got engaged yesterday, so hastily. Are you truly happy about it?"